Monthly Archives: September 2013

The Cats played host to University of Massachusetts Minutemen last night for their last non-conference game (and last home game for a few weeks). UMass was supposed to lose this game; they fought hard at first, and despite a couple of nice drives, they only got 7 points for the whole game.

K-State, after 2 previous weeks of virtually no rushing offense, seemed to use the game as practice for all of their running plays. There was almost no passing in this game. Hubert finally got some big yards running – and even had a 43-yd reception for a touchdown. There was also a pick-6 by Daly (one of is 2 interceptions). Sams got to play a lot more snaps and we got to see even more of his amazing athleticism.

The weather was gorgeous – 80 degrees, instead of the 100+ that we’d had for the past two weeks.

The Cats head off next weekend to start Big XII play at Texas and then the following week at Oklahoma State. Texas is struggling, but OSU isn’t. It would sure be nice to be 4-1 when they return one to play Baylor. Go Cats.

I listen to many podcasts – in fact, a majority of them are listed to the right of the blog page. Fort those still not familiar with what a podcast is, imagine a radio talk show that is recorded and saved and then played at any time over the internet. I use an app on my iPhone (Downcast) that automatically downloads any new episodes so I can stay caught up with all of the podcasts.

One that I’ve been listening to for several years is, The Salute. It’s a K-State sports podcast put out by two friends that sit and talk about last weeks game, next weeks game and anything else that might be important about the sports program. What I love about the program is that it’s an hour of two guys sitting and having a conversation just like the one I’d be having with any of my fellow purple-bleeding Wildcat fan friends.

By the way, the name of the podcast, “The Salute”, refers to the excessive celebration call on a touchdown by Adrian Hilburn in the 2010 Pinstripe bowl that cost us the game – a moment that I remember all too well. For those that forgot, here’s a clip…

All of this to tell you that I met up with one of the guys from the podcast, Mike T. We’ve been “friends” on many social media forums for at least a year. After listening to the podcast after our disappointing loss to North Dakota State, I contacted Mike and told him that I owed him a beer for all of the enjoyment that his podcast brings me each week. Being a solid guy, he couldn’t resist the offer of a free beer.

We met yesterday at one of my favorite watering holes. We sat and talked football, K-State sports players past and present, social media, and craft beer. What a fantastic time – getting to talk about all the things that I love. The podcast is sponsored by our favorite hometown brewer, Tallgrass Brewing Company. Therefore, it was only fitting that we celebrated our face-to-face meeting with a Tallgrass brew. Here’s to next time…

So, K-State notched the first win of the season with a win over University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Louisiana was billed as a good team (maybe not as good as North Dakota State) that should give the Cats another run for the money. However, the Wildcats played a much better game and ended up winning 48-27.

Jake Waters passed with the accuracy and efficiency of a star quarterback, but still lacked the ability to establish a run game. Daniel Sams electrified the stadium with his runs. They are developing into a great duo-quarterback team. I wonder how it’ll continue to play out over the season.

There was much better improvement all around – especially compared to the pitiful play of last weeks game. However, there were still some costly mistakes – including a couple interceptions. Most fun was the kickoff return by Thompson for a touchdown to start the second half. He then followed it up with a punt return to the 1 yard line (thanks to a facemask tackle).

This was a fun game and I’m glad all 4 of us were able to be there. It was 2 weeks in a row with game temperatures over 100 degrees. Looking forward to cooler days.

Next week – University of Massachusetts. This one is supposed to be an easy win. Go Cats!

It’s Labor Day 2013 – and I’m actually off work on this holiday! Kind of…

As a board-certified emergency physician, I am responsible for maintaining a certain level of education throughout the life of my certification. In addition to the 50 of hours of continuing education that I must obtain every year, the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) dictates a number of other items that must be completed before I take the next certification exam (which occurs every 10 years). One of those things is a number of yearly tests – called the “Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment” (LLSA) test. This test is based on a number (12-15) of medical journal articles that ABEM has deemed topical or important to review. A list is published each year and it is expected that the articles be read and then one is to take the test (after paying the fee, of course).

My next certification test is in 2017; I’m currently working on the 2012 articles. Fortunately, several study guides are published that provide the articles and outline discussions to better prepare for the test.

So, on this Labor Day, I am kicking back in the sunroom with some soft music and the LLSA Study Guide – here’s hoping the coffee keeps me awake.

Kansas State got beat at their own style of football Friday night. It was a taste of our own medicine, watching North Dakota State University Bison methodically march down the field in the final quarter and taking the final 8 minutes off the clock. They were down by 4 points – and when they had reached our 20-yard line, I turned to Linda and said “They’re gonna win this game”. We were outplayed and, I hate to admit it, outcoached. Bill Snyder even admitted as much.

The thing to remember is that NDSU wasn’t just any cupcake team that often gets scheduled for our home opener. This is a team that beat Minnesota last year and is the Division 1 FCS Champions for the past 2 years. This is a very good football team.

The goal of our team is to get better each day. We had signs of being good, but we obviously showed we have room to improve. Given Snyder’s history, I firmly believe we will come out even better next week against Louisiana.